ABSTRACT
The frequency and clinical manifestation of lung fibrosis accompanied by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are not well-established. We aimed to identify the factors attributed to post-COVID-19 fibrosis. This single-center prospective study included patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia from 12 April to 22 October 2021 in the Republic of Korea. The primary outcome was the presence of pulmonary fibrosis on a CT scan 3 months after discharge; the fibrosis risk was estimated by a multiple logistic regression. The mean patient age was 55.03 ± 12.32 (range 27-85) years; 65 (66.3%) were men and 33 (33.7%) were women. The age, Charlson Comorbidity Index, lactate dehydrogenase level, aspartate aminotransferase level, and Krebs von den Lungen-6 level were significantly higher and the albumin level and the saturation of the peripheral oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen (SpO2/FiO2) ratio were significantly lower in the fibrosis group than in the non-fibrosis group; the need for initial oxygen support was also greater in the fibrosis group. An older age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.21) and a lower initial SpO2/FiO2 ratio (AOR 7.17; 95% CI 1.72-29.91) were significant independent risk factors for pulmonary fibrosis after COVID-19 pneumonia. An older age and a low initial SpO2/FiO2 ratio were crucial in predicting pulmonary fibrosis after COVID-19 pneumonia.
ABSTRACT
This study aims to explain the process of providing important medical images for the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through the only mobile hospital computed tomography (CT) in Korea.Since January 28, 2020, medical imaging examinations have been provided to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients, and the quality of images was evaluated based on the objective and subjective indicators. In order to prevent the transmission in the hospital that may occur due to exposure to medical staff and general patients, personal protective equipment was worn and the separate route was used blocking human infection factors. For 11 weeks, a total of 185 tests were performed for 98 confirmed patients and 72 suspected patients. The average time to complete the test was 33 minutes. In the course of the test, no cross-infection cases were examined. During the outbreak of the COVID-19, the only mobile hospital CT room of Korea provided medical imaging examinations without infection among medical staff and patients and also provided adequate medical images without significant difference (p >0.05) in determining the degree of pneumonia progression compared to a stationary in-hospital CT.